CDC: Cancer Screening Below Target Rates

Jan. 26, 2012 -- Screening rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer remain below target levels in the United States and are especially low among Asians and Hispanics, the CDC reports.

Screening rates for breast and cervical cancer have remained relatively stable over the past decade, with about 3 out of 4 eligible women receiving mammograms and 4 out of 5 having Pap tests to screen for cervical cancer. Target rates set by federal officials in the Healthy People 2020 initiative are 81% and 93%, respectively, for breast and cervical cancer screening.

Cancer Screening: Room for Improvement

Colorectal cancer screening rates are much lower, although more people than ever are being screened.

In 2010, about 59% of eligible men and women had colonoscopies or another colorectal cancer screening test -- well below the 70% target screening rate for both sexes.

Prostate cancer screening was not included in the analysis because there are no target screening rates for the cancer.

Federal policymakers have concluded that the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against screening men under the age of 75. Screening is not recommended for men 75 or older.

The cancer screening update appears in the Jan. 27 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

“We have made progress, but breast and cervical cancer screening rates appear to have plateaued,” says Marcus Plescia, MD, MPH, who directs the CDC Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.

“We really need to get the numbers up for all three cancers. These are important tests. They can make a huge difference in our ability to treat these cancers early and effectively,” he says.

‘Affordable Care Act Having Impact’

Plescia says the sweeping federal health reform law has already had a positive impact on access to screening among insured Americans by requiring health insurers to cover the preventive tests. The law should have an even bigger impact when provisions expanding access to health care insurance kick in, he says.